Chapter Thirty-Seven: Escape from Peril

Then Chu Han formed his left hand into the shape of a knife and struck her hard on the nape of her neck; just like that, Duanmu Meng’er fainted, while he staggered out of the cave.

Several hours later, Chu Han finally regained consciousness from his stupor. Surveying his surroundings, he realized he had fallen asleep not far away. Checking the system in his mind, he saw the loading progress had already reached forty-eight percent; it seemed he needed to leave the Realm of Primordial Chaos as soon as possible, or else, sooner or later, he too would perish.

He headed straight back to the cave, still worried about Duanmu Meng’er’s safety. Bailey and his companion had been deceived and would surely come back for revenge; once they returned, anything could happen.

However, just as he stepped into the cave and before he could see what was inside, the cold edge of a dagger silently pressed against his neck, its icy chill waking him further.

“What did you do to me? Do you believe I won’t kill you?”

Duanmu Meng’er’s voice drifted out like a wraith from the depths of hell, making him tremble.

“I didn’t do anything. We both lost our senses at the time. I knocked you out and left. I’m a victim too—who knew there was something like that in the materials? It wasn’t intentional.”

Chu Han was utterly helpless; if it was poison, he’d been poisoned as well, and in the end, nothing had happened between them.

Hearing his words, Duanmu Meng’er said nothing, only lowered her dagger and sat silently on a stone, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You scoundrel, no one has ever touched my body before. I swear I’ll kill you. Once I recover to my peak, I’ll definitely kill you.”

She screamed hysterically, and Chu Han was left helpless, saying nothing in response. In such circumstances, words were meaningless.

Just then, a jet of flame burst into the cave from outside. Chu Han was alarmed and hastily leapt aside to avoid the attack, while Duanmu Meng’er was also startled.

“This is bad. Those two old men have found us. We need to leave—now.”

Without another word, Chu Han scooped up Duanmu Meng’er and charged out of the cave, fleeing desperately. He could sense the powerful auras of their pursuers behind them.

“You little brat, you dare trick your grandfather? Today, I’ll torture you to death!”

Bailey’s voice rang out behind them, followed by a bolt of lightning. Chu Han could not dodge in time and was struck head-on. Blood spurted from his mouth, but he dared not stop, only ran faster.

In Chu Han’s arms, Duanmu Meng’er gazed at him in a daze, her curiosity piqued about the man before her. Just moments ago, she’d wanted to kill him, but now, faced with danger, he carried her away without a second thought.

“Hey, put me down. If we keep running like this, neither of us will get away—we’ll both die here.”

Duanmu Meng’er spoke, but Chu Han shook his head resolutely, holding her tightly as if she were a priceless treasure, unwilling to let go no matter what.

Duanmu Meng’er bit her lower lip. Chu Han was already injured; if this continued, both would die here.

“Do you have a way to escape the Realm of Primordial Chaos? Put me down—I have a way to leave. Once I’m gone, you must leave the realm immediately. Don’t linger for a second.”

With those words, she pushed him away, then formed a strange gesture with her hands, lifting her head to look at him with a complicated expression.

“Chu Han, we’ll meet again. Next time, I’ll definitely kill you.”

As she spoke, Duanmu Meng’er’s body gradually became translucent and slowly turned to mist until she vanished completely.

Meanwhile, Chu Han stared at the spot where she’d disappeared as if he’d seen a ghost, utterly baffled by her sudden vanishing act.

But there was no time to dwell on it. Now that she was gone, he too could not remain—he pushed his speed to the limit, frantically fleeing toward the boundary of the realm.

Yet the two pursuers were relentless. Injured, Chu Han’s speed dropped, and they quickly caught up.

“Haha, wretched brat, today is the day you die. Go to hell!”

Chu Han realized he was not far from the edge of the realm. Lightning struck him again, sending a scream from his lips as he rolled forward, scrambling to his feet to keep running.

But attacks came in swift succession; a wall of crimson fire blocked his path, the searing heat dispersing some of the poisonous miasma and distorting the air.

The exit was completely sealed. Gritting his teeth, Chu Han plunged directly into the sea of fire, desperate to break through.

But the fire’s poison invaded his body, and the agony made him groan aloud. Bailey and Loki closed in, surrounding him.

“Haha, keep running! I’d like to see where you think you can go now.”

Loki laughed loudly, raising his hand to deliver a fatal blow.

Though Chu Han’s cultivation was vastly inferior, he would not sit and wait for death. He gathered all his true energy, prepared for a desperate fight. Yet in that instant, something unexpected happened.

He was still within the Realm of Primordial Chaos, far from the outer space beyond. But right before their eyes, the entire realm lifted into the air and flew away as a glowing orb, uprooting itself from the ground. The three of them were flung onto the earth, landing back on the very same mountaintop as before.

The departure of the realm shocked the surrounding sects, who hurriedly organized their people to give chase. Loki and Bailey, too, forgot about the dragon bone—they were not natives of this world and needed the realm to return home.

Thus, they set off in pursuit without hesitation, leaving Chu Han sitting alone in a daze.

In that instant when the realm flew away, a current of energy entered Chu Han’s heart—a pure power of lightning. The system, which had reached over fifty percent, instantly reset to zero.

Chu Han burst into laughter—surviving such a disaster must be a sign of future fortune. Closing his eyes, he began to refine the lightning within his body, compressing all power into his dantian, his cultivation breaking through directly to the late Wheel Sea stage, the Heavenly Palace realm.

Moreover, tempered by the pure lightning, his physical strength broke through to an unprecedented one hundred and twenty thousand jin. To his knowledge, never before had a Wheel Sea realm master achieved such strength—he was without equal in history.

The wounds within his body were also healed by the breakthrough. With his newfound might, he could now defeat ordinary Dao Palace experts and was not far from the Inscription realm. Staring in the direction Loki and Bailey had gone, he murmured, “Just wait. The shame you brought me—I will repay a hundredfold, sooner or later.”

Within the Realm of Primordial Chaos—

A woman in black nightwear slowly rose from the ground, a faint smile on her lips. “Chu Han, just wait. It won’t be long before we meet again. I hope you’ll surprise me once more.”

If Chu Han were present, he would have been shocked to recognize her—it was Duanmu Meng’er. The one he’d met in the forbidden zone was merely a strand of her soul; her true body had been hidden within the inner space of the realm.

Afterward, she left the realm alone, flying in the direction of Jingyuan City from her memories.